NBC VOWS IT WON’T BE A PR TOOL FOR PUTIN

LOS ANGELES: The National Broadcasting Co., which paid $775 million to cover the Sochi Olympics, insists it won’t be used by Russian president Vladimir Putin when the 2014 Winter Games begin February 6. Mark Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Sports Group, said the New York-based broadcasting giant won’t shy away from reporting on human rights issues or threats of terror. “We don’t know what is going to happen in Sochi. We will cover anything that takes place during the Games,” Lazarus told the USA Today newspaper.